Prince of Persia 3 The Kindred Blades
by Dat fucking writefag
Summary: The Prince of Persia, a seasoned warrior, returns from the Island of Time to Babylon with his love, Kaileena. Instead of the peace that he longs for, he finds his homeland ravaged by war and the kingdom turned against him.Official alternate of Two Thrones
1. Prologue to Dawn

**Author's note:**

**Welcome to my first fic. To shorten my Preface I wrote before because it confused some readers:**

** This story is intended to be an 'official' AU-Version of Prince of Persia starting at the end of Warrior Within. Before the release of the finale game, Ubisoft developed a darker, more complex and dramatical version of the finale, which many hardliners in the PoP-community know as ''the Kindred Blades''. But probably due marketing reasons and the fear to loose ratings Ubisoft scraped it and made a sudden redesign during developement and took a lighter but less satisfying ending of the trilogy which is released as the Two Thrones. But the concept of the true version is still out there, it just needed to be released. I chose this path to write a novel about it, how the saga would've probably ended.**

**Everything is based on the materials which is left from KB, including own ideas inspired by Persian and Babylonian Mythology and the theme of Sands of Time and the darker Warrior Within.**

**Also from a different Mythology...hehe,you'll see.  
**

**Just to ensure, it won't be a game manual. It's a story any PoP-fan should have access to. Also to those who just like to read you will enjoy it. And don't forget to review!**

**Tantrix~  
**

* * *

The Prologue of Dawn

_We all make mistakes. Some are small, some are large. But his mistakes, born of innocence, and fuelled by pride, were the greatest and most terrible of all._

_Some believe that when the desperate Persian journeyed to the Island of Time to escape his death, he returned alone, the amulet destroyed, the Dahaka appeased and the Empress dead. But this is not how it happened. The truth is that he chose to save me from my destiny and in doing so, he set me free... and doomed us all._

_Most humans believe time is like a river, which runs swift and sure in one direction. But be certain that they are wrong._

_Maybe you remember this tale in the form of a lullaby, your caring mother sang to you once upon a time. A story meant to send you off to the farthest lands; to a place of dreams and wonder. A story of the self-inflicted torments, of redemption and of the tragic sacrifice this Prince had to make to save the kingdom that was rightfully his. But you know nothing of what really happened. How could you, when the truth has been buried by the sands of the hourglass; his story hidden under, like a grain in the desert. I doubt you even know his name..._

_But alas, I shall tell you of this Prince of Persia, and his final adventure. It all started with a nightmare. No, a vision...._

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_

Fire; that was all his eyes could see around him. Wide eyed with shock he stared, quite still, while his home burned, leaving nothing but ashes. He could smell the cooked flesh of it's innocent victims and could hear the cries of children off in the distance. The once great tower of Babel, constructed by the favoured architect Nymrod, was now crumbling to soot, flowing along with the wind. The crimson flames ate through everything, yet did not dare approach this Prince. The screams came from every direction and the floors were covered with strained or flesh blood. But under this thick layer of different sounds one voice could he hear clearly.  
''_All what is yours is rightfully mine_'', this voice, growling like a dragon threatening the princess, droned from the fire. Before the raven haired Persian could react, he felt lava, hot, and overpowering pulsating through his veins, burning on the inside, and bubbling to the surface. ''_And mine...it will be_'' , this voice finished. The burning man witnessed then suddenly a shadow growing before him,looking like the reaper itself. Suddenly,this silhouette grabbed at the sword of his victim and impaled ---

''**NO!**'' , shrieked the Prince, raising his head from something hard and cold. With an immense push, he got onto his knee's. Panicked, his blood shot eyes darted from wall to wall, taking in his surroundings, scanning the area he was in. After some short heavy breaths, he noticed a fountain, and limped towards it. He filled a pale with water and poured it over his head feeling his heated skin cool instantly. Slowly he started to realize where he was and began to regain control over himself. Just a nightmare, he told himself, releasing a breath of weary exhaustion. The Prince looked around the room, and suddenly it felt much smaller. When he was trying to get to the pale of water, the room felt like the size of his Babylonian dinner hall but now it was no bigger then a prison. The Prince got back to his feet and tried to remember the details of his dream. ''It was so real and vivid… too real'', he whispered, as he took a deep breath. Still dazed from his sudden awaking, he picked up what seemed to be a broken mirror; his mirror… His usually daily routine on this ship was to get up and make sure he was on the correct course, then shave, change his clothes and some days, sharpen his sword,then exchanging the made up shift with his one time partner,  
who controlled the route to Babylon at night.  
He had followed this sort of regiment for close to a year while returning from the island of time. If he was lucky, he would be arriving at Babylon quite soon.

But all he could now was staring at his image and taking in all notes to his current looks,trying to think of something else than that dreadful nightmare.  
His sweated body was covered with rough scars, reminders of his past adventures, especially the one that stashed across his left eye. If he could, he would've just washed them like dirt off his body, but they won't go, not as long as this body exists in this world. On his right overarm was a ringed tattoo carved in, a different reminder of a more pleasant night he had 7 years ago with a certain Indian princess, but unlike the scars, the once intensive black went each day more and more off. The one who made it promised him it won't go off. Talking about being tricked _twice_.

But a new tattoo was carved in ,taking his whole left part of the shoulders and his triceps. It was an image of a tiger, crawling cautious, yet majestic, maybe to attack some prey, not knowing of it's doom. This came from a _different_night. Associating to it, the Persian warrior thought back of his intimal actions with his comrade, remembering what exactly happened. He really didn't know. Every time they were at it, he was like in a trance, feeling her smooth body pressed at his, but that was it. Aside of that, the only thing he was aware of what happened was after the _''private times''_.  
Worst hangovers he ever got from his live. Every inch of his body trembled from those sore muscles, and his headache could be best described as ''Brute hitting like a hammer on his skull 'till brain splatters out''. He asked her three times already what was happening in those nights,but she just ignored him. It was hard enough to get her into any conversations because of their different shift times, and even if the Prince managed to get her into one,also it was a chance of luck to get anything of her out. The content of their talks is only on rough surface. If the Prince tried to go deeper, like asking about her past, the woman shutted herself out, and resembled more like a marvellous porcelain doll staring emptiness into the blue ocean. She did that always, but he can't blame her. She seemed to have a past which terribleness was beyond his imagination, added to the fact that she has developed paranoiac dementia during her life on the island of time. Living in an isolated island where no live spread since millennia, in a fortress filled with cruel monster, ready to kill their own kinds for the sake of their empress, and traps no simple man can surpass can only explain paranoia.  
But alas, she didn't ignore him completely. Though the Prince was one of the more silent types of man, he opened his heart to her. After all those 7 years she was the only real human being _(if she is really human)_who had listened to him. He really didn't had to talk to someone if he was hunted by some dark guardianship.  
He knew that she was the Empress of Time, she knew of his live, he found it foolish of him to tell her the same story, but he needed to get it out. The pain, the horror,the sins he has done, the sick thought you can die in any minute,any second, everything...

Suddenly he shook his head. He doesn't want to think on that time again. It's over now. He freed himself from this fate. Now there is a future of hope.

By this he tried to grab at the next best thing that can serve as a razor while still staring at the mirror. His real one was lost in his first ship, and the...companion only had weapons to offer,since she and probably her ''guardianship'' didn't need to shave. He wondered if swords were her secret fet...

He wince as he grabbed on something sharp while he dwelled on that (weird)thought. Sharp enough to cut his palm. Seems to be the right one.

The grumbling Persian let go of the object and searched for some bandage, while grumbling. Although he hated it when something like that happened(which happens a lot), he was glad to think of something more...interesting than of new strategies how to survive.  
After binding his wound, the Prince focused now on this cursed object on the shelf next to the mirror. It was a dagger. A really simple fish bayonet as far as it looks like, but it wasn't an ordinary one.

''You again'', whispered the Prince, a grim expression crossing his face. He knew that malicious dagger. He saw and used it on several occasions during the time on the ship, but really couldn't say that it was his. The dagger seemed to have an own will, always appearing on different places,on different times. And the dagger seems to hate him, because this cut wasn't the only one. He needs to ask that darn woman again what's the deal with that knife, since he presumed she used it instantly (Now he really has to wonder about her fetish.).

After waiting some moments of hoping that the dagger would answer to his accusation, he then stepped closer and took the the bayonet and examined closely.  
The blade was double edged,but has a simple bend,like any ordinary knife.  
The hilt was simple constructed without any wires,also bend,suggesting it's oriental origins. Yep, looking all ordinary. But the hole doesn't. Under the bayonet guard sticks a huge ringed hole out. The Prince wondered about that some time why is it that. He first concluded that it was a design question, but the way the knife was constructed,and this hole, gave him a deja vu to a certain other dagger. But it can't be. No, he knew the dagger he thought of is still on the island, somewhere deeply hidden.

While shaving he thought of today schedule. If you imagine sailing 8 months alone , you would just think of having _*waaaaay*_too much time to think. But reality is a *****. He wondered who build this damn ship since it was a mess. The dock is mostly softened due to some water lacks, scratches were everywhere and the sailing has holes cut through. So it means he has lots of time to repair this ship only not sink. Food and water was also on schedule. He has to coordinate the routes and plan when to go on land to buy food and water, and he still has this paranoiac feeling of being followed. But after 2 months he got used to it.  
If the companion were not just standing around this ship and acting all isolated...

Before the lift off he asked the ex-island keeper not just to use the trireme Shadeeh attacked him with that at the very beginning and take some of the sands monster for the paddles(no matter how many of them he killed there were still over 2/3 of them wandering around the Island of time.). As weird as it sounds(also that the monster were hating him with guts for slaying their comrades and... lovers .) it was a logical conclusion. The ship she offered, if you can call it a ship, was a mess and while having some burns and a giant  
cleft on the sailings, the trireme was still in tact. But she declined. It was an important tool for guarding this island. ''While still guarding it? The sands is gone...technically if you put your guards out '', he argument. But she shook her head. ''It's better that way'', was the only answer and was given as an ultimatum. The poor royal regretted that acceptance one week later.

After the Prince finished his morning cleaning he dressed himself up. There was a white west with a cape attached somewhere on the little ship, but he couldn't find it. Besides,he hated white anyway. To royal. So he just took his old armour. As prejudice as it sounds, the only thing she did was flicking his clothes and cooked the meals. He told her that she didn't need to but she still insisted.  
The old armour didn't changed much, thanks to the time reversing he spared much of the damage. His comrade decided to give an more suitable exterior look to the Prince. She made for the Persian a brown coat which was complementary to his armour,which is opened up in the middle,still letting show Farrah's amulet he still has from the journey through Azad. Also a cloak was attached to the coat to give a more elegant appearance. Of course she made that at the beginning of the trip,so it began to wore off and get dirtier, but he can't find the darned white west!  
Order wasn't really his strength.

The Prince added to his wires on his right arm a little arm shield to block weapons that way better. The scarf stayed on his torso keeping his baggy trousers firmly from falling. The boots were replaced by golden pleated ones. They gave more protection and were more flexible on running surprisingly.

All in all, he still looked like a cold blooded warrior, or like many called him, _''Ahriman's son''_. But better be save than sorry, if they were attacked by pirates or enemies of the Persian empire.

That done he gave a last look around in the chamber before going to the deck.

8 months living in that chamber wasn't really royal luxury, but modesty was a born virtuosity of any Persian King he knew of. Beside a bed , good weather and a world wide bathroom, what do you really need more? Maybe some social contact and wine, but beggars can't be choosers.  
The Prince looked at the opposite direction of the bed and saw his writing desk.  
It is scattered with many s****s of papyrus , some crumbled ,some even completely inked. But over this mess was some sort of thin notebook. The Prince went closer to the desk and picked the book up and opened it. The writing was a pure slaughter field.  
The content was readable, but was fuelled with ugly scribbles and brutal strokes almost cutting the page. Which didn't made it look worse, many pages have been ripped out and this book didn't took it well.  
The abuser was the one and only Prince and he wonder if he should apologize to the book. After all, it was his diary.

By the beginning of the hunt of the Dahaka the Prince has made unforgivable mistakes out of his desperation. Hearing of a box which was promised to make wonders drove the Prince to disobey his father and drove the Deavan deserts to find this curious object. He found it. He opened it. He sinned once more.  
By freeing an army of angered Daevans the Prince released a powerful enemy which attacked in a short time Persia. His so caring mother died under a thunder spell. He can never forgive himself killing again the one of his loved ones.  
King of Persia Sharahman punished the Prince for his crimes by clearing his name out of history records and made sure everyone only remembered him as ''the Prince'', a word,nothing more,nothing less, forgotten in history. A nobody not worth to acknowledge his existence. Even he forgot what really his name was. His real name didn't mattered him any more , since his only focus was survival. But now he was regretting that consequence. How can you still be a Prince if nobody,even you, can't remember his own name?

So he thought of writing a diary. He made some records during the Dahaka hunt, but it was more of working his problems out,like the failed battle against the Daevans years ago. Unfortunately those were lost in deep ink then when he escaped suddenly, so there was no hope of getting to that again.  
He first started with an autobiography trying to summarize his whole life in a simple writing style. He was no Herodot maybe, but he managed a detailed story from his childhood to the last days on the island. He didn't feared of the consequence to mention the use of time travel because the threat of misusing it was out of question now. But still, the memory of his name is gone. Damn, he hoped his father could tell it, even if it sounds stupid. What actually pained him were retelling the time he fled from the Dahaka which took a quarter of his life. The pressure, the hardship of torments for escaping, that thought that the dark monster will catch you twisting your entrails, no moment when you feel peace or happiness, only fear and trusting only your instincts say how to survive. Yes, those memories didn't vanished. It still felt like yesterday. And he could never forget that.

It was also the very reason why this book became so devastated. He often lost the concentration when the pain of the memories were too big . Instead the Prince wrote something he didn't intended which caused to bubble his anger up and tried to correct it. But then it happened again and the page was to full of ink and he tore that useless page out then.  
This process repeated itself again and again, then just skipped the hunts most of the 7 years but just wrote what else he experienced which was really little. He used the rest of the pages as an diary of his ship trip back to Babylon: Not much to write anyway, so he just made an entry every week or when something special happened like when he finally got to an conversation with her.

The Prince looked back to the ripped out notes and frowned.  
The Dahaka may be gone , but not freed from his mind. The Prince still has those nightmares, where this monster terrorized him and made him run like a cowering rabbit from the big bad wolf. His companion made him sometimes a brew she made from mysterious herbs if those nightmares went worse. They helped, but not for long. And those herbs she used to brew this curious beverage called ''tea'' were not unlimited. Anyone could guess that those herbs went out after some weeks. Another reason to get on land sometimes.  
It never made sense to him. He was no coward. Never been before. And he knew that not by ignorance. He faced the most brutal soldiers of the Spartans, hideous monsters of the Daevan army, and creatures from the deep of the Ocean and more. And maybe he was shocked at those moments, but wasn't scared to fight against them. So why did the fear of the Dahaka still twist him? He couldn't figure it out,so resigned he just lay the book back on the desk.  
If he got back to Babylon he really needed to speak with some Priest to help him out to surpass his inner devils. He heard that a pilgrimage to Epidaurus could even cleanse the most twisted pains. But he never trusted the Greeks.

The Persian warrior sighed.''It's time to go up'', the Prince concluded. Though he figured it's still early dawn since he didn't hear any gulls yet, he couldn't go back to bed now.  
If he were right with his coordinates then the ship would reach Babylon soon in a few hours.  
A good thing he had that nightmare...  
The Persian blinked. Now the Prince realised why he felt so anxious.  
This nightmare. The picture of his kingdom being burned down. Pictures of civilians and Persian soldiers slaughtered to bits. And that mysterious voice which sounded so familiar....it was...it felt so...real. And he experienced a deja vue as he remembered it. When he didn't dream of the Dahaka, he had those dreams , but only in different appearances. Could they be...visions?  
The Prince shook his head.'' Impossible'', the Persian heir said aloud. ''This is the Persian empire. We are the strongest of the world. We managed to convince those who stood against the empire submit to us by showing our true potential, alas we became united. No one is crazy enough passing all defences to invade Babylon and or strong enough to succeed at that. Or I will haunt those who dares to threaten my Kingdom!''

At that , he grabbed the dagger which seemed to follow him again and took a cerulean glowing Sword at the corner beside the stairs. He named it ''Anahita'', after the goddess of Water who he believed aided him in his journey.  
Seven years was the warrior hunted by the Dahaka, and that magical weapon helped him to defeat that monster. The Empress of Time crafted that sword to take on the Dahaka by herself if she managed to kill the Prince.

At the realization the Prince chuckled at this bitter irony. After all, instead his fights against the horrors of the island and it's inhabitants and the Empress herself, just some communication and compromises could've prevent all this.

But for now this sword has fulfilled it's duty and the Prince is not ungrateful. If he returned to Babylon, he will grant his saviour a place in the Babylonian temple of Zurvan or maybe Anahita for the riddance of the Guardian of Time. A proof that fate can be changed.  
He won't let it rot in the island, and he told this his companion if she liked it or not.  
At least,Prince of Persia gave a last glance behind his chamber and nodded. With a swift jump. he climbed on the higher part of the stairs and went to the promising soft light.

It was time to meet his future.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Today the shifting wind was favourable for the crew of the eremite ship, which was like a tiny brown spot on the vast ocean.  
In a gracious yet fast speed, the little ship slid further and further across the soft orange water to it's destined goal. It was still dawn, but the heaven expressed a surreal scenery of variations of pink,orange and violet colours. The moon was still to see, covered by soft clouds, more and more vanishing from the colourful sky. The dawn of the sun began to rise faintly making the heaven a little brighter each minute .

At the bow of the ship , the Prince hung over it and watched the beautiful scenery before him. He did that quite often while he sailed on the ship. It gave him inner peace somehow. During the hunt of the Dahaka, the Persian Prince focused only on escaping the eye colourless demon and ignored everything else around him.  
He had forgotten the beauty of the the world, the little details what makes life interesting. In the seven years of despair he only found haven in the depths of the seas where the beast couldn't follow him. Except on some occasions that forced him on land, he never dared to step out of his ship. He forgot the pure tone of music, the fresh taste of fruits and flesh, the sulky skin of a woman except for his comrade ...in his last 8 months he tried to catch up those joys of life. On land he rediscovered the means to seek contacts with other humans. He joined different feasts,learned new forms of dances which supported him to learn forms of sword fighting and visited the market squares for all kinds of food. Thankfully to his cloak he could hide hide his identity but he doubted that he would need it if the population seemed to forgot about his existence. Often the former Empress trailed with him along.

The Prince felt the strong grist of wind hitting against his face. It would take still some hours until they will be reach the cliff which protects the port of Babylon from hostile soldiers or thieves.  
Still looking straight, the Prince fingered the curious object which seems to be fixated on his armour with his free arm and suddenly took it out. He lifted the gold glowing object to have a better look at it.  
It was an amulet. Made by a golden like material with a symbol of a half moon on it. It looked like a normal accessors, but it wasn't.  
It was an artefact from the Empress of Time, a tool which any man can control the fabric of time at a certain sum of time. But the Prince saw even more in it.

The amulet was his only companion all those 7 years, a last fragment of a non existent past .A past he prevented. A non existent past that haunted him. In his young years he kept it as a reminder of someone who helped him to change the fate he was responsible for. They fell in love. But she betrayed him so that she can return to the time and stop the vizier who betrayed her kingdom. It was like a devil's circle. But she died...and it was his fault. It didn't mattered that his actions prevented all the nightmare on Azad and irreparably altered the true course of Time. No matter if he told her all this and killed the traitor,she hadn't believe him.  
She was dead for him. And he accepted it and tried to move on. If that monster who cleanse all time paranormals out of Timeline didn't showed up and ruined his life.

Now the amulet was nothing more a scar cut through his hearts deeply . All his fears he tried to forget bubbled up again. He recalled another voyage, where he became swirled in waters that swept him to a place of horror. He remembered to fight hundreds of sand corrupted monsters, worse than anything he had faced before. And finally, as he had to decide: to sacrifice the Creator of the Sands who herself was bonded to her destiny like he was to die just to save his own skin. Or to face the monster he run from so long before.  
The Prince recalled voices he had heard from different person. All with the same message:  
''....You cannot change your fate, no man can...''  
"...You have two choices, run or die...."  
"...No matter what you do, you will still fail..."  
''YOU WILL DIE''

Suddenly the Prince found himself beside the bow again shocked up by the sudden stagger of the ship he still hung at. He twitched and lost the grip.-----  
He was again at the same pose and surpassed the upcoming time became a daily routine to him, considering how much of the sands of time he can use now thanks to his partner. Assured that he was safe,he looked at the amulet again. He thought if he should do it. A nagging thought in the back of the head warned him not to do it, but then he decided for it, to avoid more trouble.

Slowly, his hand twisted and the amulet slipped from his hand. Though it saved him many times, it would be better to get rid of the last tool to control the time, for a time. Though it is still charged with the last remnants of sands, he won't need it any more. He has changed his fate forever, despite what everyone else said. Now the future is open for him. He saw the amulet falling and falling, reaching the surface of the oceans. For some reason, it looked like an eternity. Maybe the sands really affected his---

Suddenly, a golden like sand cloud appeared with a high pitched sound near the surface and vanished quickly afterwards. The scenario went like a split second for the Prince and blinked.''What the---'', the Prince stammered out and blinked again. The amulet...disappeared. Logically it should if it would sink in the depths of the sea, but he didn't saw it reaching the water for the first place. Have his mind played tricks on him.  
No, he knew that cloud...

''**KAILEENA!!!**'' the Persian roared when he realized who was responsible for the disappearance of the artefact. Swiftly climbing up with the rope, he was on the top of the bow and saw in front of him a woman in red. She turned her back on him.  
''What the hell do you think you're doing!'', he asked her irritated.  
''Why, don't grow-ups look after children that they don't throw their toys away easily?'', Aileen counter asked in a sardonic tone, her hands on her hips showing a ironic gesture of a rigorous teacher admonishing his disciple.  
''Don't play with me!'', the Prince responded harshly. The Prince suffered under the virulent tongue of a woman.  
_Again._

He charged at her with outstretched arms, determined to get that amulet. But she teleported right before his eyes again. Grinding his teeth he looked out for that red wearing woman. Suddenly her voice appeared behind him:  
''I dunno,maybe someone wants to still keep it. As a keepsake for the _good old times_.''  
His head dashing to the side, he made no effort to swift around and pack the annoying woman. Yet again she vanished. His nerves reaching a new edge the Prince of Persia looked for her everywhere and shouted: ''If you mean me kicking your butt, then yes, it were good times and will be!''

Great, she is in her _good moods_again. Nothing bad about seeing her different than the emotionless empress he had met in the island at least, but the Prince discovered really quick that she has a _naughty_side. Like that Indian princess who can't go out of his head.  
When he heard her chuckle he lifted his head and saw her sitting leg crossed on the top of the sail, flipping the amulet like a coin for gambling.''It's such a beautiful sight, why don't you enjoy that instead playing cat and mice with me?'', she taunted him.

He grunted and started to climb up to the top. ''I admit the weather is even better than in your holiday island, but nothing new really'',he replied sardonic .He was now only a few steps away from her. Steps to balance.''Besides'', he said as he started this challenge.''I can't really enjoy the scenery if you have my stuff.''  
''Yours?'', she asked him as the Prince watched the amulet thrown in the the amulet's gravity pulled it down, the Empress grabbed it with a quick snatch and continued:,, I didn't gave you permission to convey one of my artefacts.''  
The Persian man looked aback at that statement.''Your artefact?'', he said, not believing at what she said.  
'' Remember that I am the one carrying this thing around aside now? Even if it was yours,why do you claim it as it right now?'', he asked her ,now a few inches away from her.  
She just laughed at him turning her head at the Prince.  
''Because I figured it looked good on your armour'', she said with a wink.

Growling, the Prince nearly jumped like a angered tiger at his prey. Again, she teleported. The Prince eyes widened as he tried to take hold but it was too late. Falling down and holding at the pole which hold the luck, he lost grip and slid through the sailing downstairs crying at the coming end. And that hurt. As he managed to get up again from the dirty wood and lifted his head  
the Prince saw then Kaileena at the edge of the rail sitting like a little girl while playing with her legs out of boredom.  
Frustrated, the Prince sighed in defeat. This is getting nowhere. Time for plan B: _Sympathy_.

''Look'', he tried again and took a step closer to Kaileena.  
''I stopped the creation of the sands and changed our fates, but that doesn't mean that this is really over.'' The Persian reached for the amulet , but Kaileena continued to flip it and ignored him.  
''Please Kaileena, nobody may know of the sands...''  
''Is it really because of the sands?'', she asked him, not showing his face to him.  
The Prince blinked. But then he snarled interpreting her rhetorical question. ''Oh I see, the _great_Empress thinks I try to get rid of my past by throwing that stupid emblem away. Well, thanks ,Doc, for your analysis.  
''That's not what I mean'',she replied. The Prince remained silent,but he became intrigued now what she means.  
''You got it from her,right?'',she asked him. The Prince knew who she meant and turned away looking at the side.''It must be really precious to you for throwing it away''.The sarcasm of her helped really to make the Prince feel guilty for betraying his feelings.  
Yeah, he got it from her, at the night when he loved her...and lost her.

''This time doesn't exist any more'',he answered, saddened at this memory.''It's better not to mourn at something so...void.''  
''So you want to enter a new phase of life by throwing the only proof that this time happened. How symbolic'', she commented nonchalantly. The Prince didn't answer.  
It seemed like an eternity between them,so long they remained quiet,lost in their thoughts.

But then after one last flip, the Empress threw the amulet towards the Prince, who cached it dumbfounded by this sudden action.  
''Keep it'', she just said, not giving any further glances.  
''Why?'', the Prince asked bewildered.  
''I cannot force you to do it, but you should take my advice for your own sake.''  
She then stood up and walked slowly too the Prince.''This artefact saved your life, countless of times before. It might save yours again. ''  
''You mean it's still not over?'', the Prince asked, remembering the nightmare of the morning. Gulping , he realized what she meant.''Have you seen it in the Timeline?''  
She shook her had. ''The Timeline is not like a diary you can just open and read the current entry,Prince. Fate is something far more complex,even I can't say where it's true intention or logic lies. Rarely it allows me to look into the future, most are short fractions only.''

She looked at the Prince again and saw a look what would say the line 'So what now'?  
She sighed.''Every time we both try to change our fate, things go worse. Even I---'', but then she stopped realizing what she wanted to spill and looked down. The Prince crossed a brow at this. Too bad, just now he would've learned a probably important aspect in her past. But what? What caused her so much pain to try to shut it out?

But then she shook her head but more vigorously and looked up at the Prince.  
''What I am saying is, what consequences have our actions? Have we angered gods even greater than the Dahaka?Will a death far worse than our last one be upon us? Have you ever thought of that when you threw the amulet, our only trump card,AWAY?!?'', she then began shouting at him furiously.  
The Prince cringed at this sudden change of situation. He should be mad, not her! But he understood what she meant and looked ashamed at the ground. Of course she was right. What was he thinking doing something foolish like that?  
''I'm sorry,I should have known better...'', he just murmured. Kaileena sighed again and put her hand on the man's shoulder gently.''It's okay.'' Her hand slid on the Persian's check and caressed it. Shocked by this action the eyes of the Prince focused on the red woman again''But remember: Think before you act. You are a potential heir of a powerful empire, and any decision could bless or doom everything you own.''And then she hugged Prince feeling save and loved somehow in her arms returned that hug.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

''There arose a myth 6 years ago when I left Babylon'', the Prince told Kaileena nonchalantly. Both were leaning at the rail of the upper deck and watched dolphins swimming through the water.  
''A myth?And so young?'', the former Empress said, interested about that notion.  
The Prince nodded.''I heard it from my crew when they were chatting about it. We have a really old architect called Nymrod, who have designed,organized and probably still works on the building of the great tower of Babel.''  
''I've heard about it. '', the woman in red replied. ''it was said the architect wants to create a link between the humans and the gods, to reach onto the heaven ,even the stars.  
A really arrogant and superstitious project.'', she commented, ignoring the twitch from the mouth of the Persian besides her.'' But why 6 years? That man seemed to work on it all his lifetime.''  
''Well, that's just it. If the tower will be finished, then...'', the Prince kept silent.  
Kaileena then turned her head to him. ''Then what?Your death?The end of Persia? Ormazd goes cricket with the king?''.  
''No, then...at the same point...'', the Prince gulped.''I have arrived Babylon.''

The woman looked at him oddly. ''So?''  
''That's what I also asked the crew.' Sounds great ,then why do you look so worried about?' The ones who told them this story said it would be... the end of the world.''  
They both kept silent. But then the Prince said.''Since the beginning of my odyssey through the sea, I always wished to return to my home town. I know that Persepolis is the main metropolis of Persia but still... it's the place where I was born, raised and learned for the first time to wield a sword...'', then he looked up to the sky.''To think about it, the town was always like a playground for me, the place which gave me the possibilities to learn the acrobatics I am known of. Who knows how I would've ended up somewhere else. But now...'', he looked at her again, a gleam of desperation in his eyes, ,, I am scared of returning. What will happen if the world, my world, would fell apart?Again? Could I still take such a loss?'', he remembered those nightmares he had for months, that his homeland would burn under the corpses of the people, his people.

''Only time will tell, my Prince'', his companion remarked.'' but you shouldn't forget that humans can change their fates and those from others. You are the very proof of that.''  
His eyes turning away and locking onto the fishes swimming away he calmed himself.''Yes...yes, you are right.''

It was time for switching the topic,he thought.''So tell me, what was the island of time before you were there?''  
''What?'',the Kaileena looked at him off guard.''Wh-why do you ask?''.

''Dammit Kaileena, for a whole year you completely shut yourself when it always came to your past.'', the Prince said having enough from her reactions.''I am confessing my whole life to you, and you don't even tell an inch of your probably millennia old existence. I doubt you will even answer how the Maharajah know of the island---''  
,,He didn't'', the woman in red said, interrupting the Prince with the same cold attitude when it came down to her. '' A prophet foretold him when he became the lord of India he will reach a mysterious island created by the gods and will find honour and glory in it. Of course like any foolish man he started searching for it. Their arrival was pure coincidence. Or was it fate? I don't care any longer.'', she then turned her head to him and her green eyes pierced into the cold blue ones.  
''Why do you care of my past anyway? You have maybe saved my life, but it doesn't give you any right -''  
''I just want to know if you understand me!'', the Prince pressed on.'' You act like that you just acknowledge all what I tell you with no care. I want to know if you accept me,I want to know if you care about me, I want to...I just want to know.'' The Prince looked at the Empress again but this time a look that even the Empress herself was surprised that this warrior was capable of: _A puppy dog pout_:  
''Please...''

Not standing the miserable look of him she raised a hand in defeat.,,All right,all right,you win. But only this time''.  
She placed her hands on her hips when the pout dissipated on the face from the Persian as if it never existed.''Where did you learn...that?''

The Prince crossed his arms and murmured:''From an Indian brat.''  
Kaileena chuckled at that remark of then took the same pose before and began:''As to your question: I don't know much either what the island was. When I reached the island through --- let's just say, something-  
I thought I found heaven. It was a beautiful landscape with any animal you could rarely see these days now. The People were one with nature and had a really liberal and matriarch orientated structure. Any human would say it was paradise itself. Too bad it had to turn into that island you just experienced.''  
''But just why have you done this? Was your fear of death that terrible?'', the Prince asked, surprised to hear something like this. He knew she was desperate...but to go that far?

''It was the Sands doing, not mine.'' the Empress answered, who seemed to know that reaction was coming.'' I am maybe the Empress of Time, but not of the sands. Though I can do what I want with it, I nothing more than their host. If it wants something, nothing will stop turning everyone into sand monsters. The hourglass was a solution of mine to seal the sands if I happen to die.''

The Prince listened carefully, feeling stated of the theories he developed during the years. Made also sense now why she did that hour glass in the very beginning. But what was the sands? From what evil came it to take that woman as their host?  
It seems to be more than just some magic as she stated it. It seemed to be...conscious, in some way.

But he didn't want to go that deep. Not yet. Those answers were enough for the beginning.  
He had to go a step back and engulf more about the Empress herself.  
''So the island... it was never a home to you,did it?''  
The Empress blinked. '' A home...?'', she looked like she really thought through that question, but then she shook. ''No, it never was. It was like a prison I was torment  
to. The castle,the nature...even the eyes of my servants locked on me are a reminder what I am...what I have become...'' She stopped with her lips moving silently, but the Prince nodded then.

''You don't have to tell me more. I think I have heard enough.'' Damn,he didn't know that it would make him feel that bad hearing about the Empress feelings. Th Prince wondered if she felt the same as he told her his .  
''It's alright'',she then said.''Too be honest...'', a little smile curled on her mouth.'' I didn't know it felt that relieving to talk about it.''  
At that, the Prince,even so small, gave a smirk on his face. Maybe it wasn't so hopeless after all.

In front of them the dolphins sung and dance like it was no tomorrow. Both passengers saw them reaching  
the horizon of the soft orange ocean taking a new course.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_But deep down, we both knew that we will cross with the unavoidable. But we tried to ignore it. You may call it foolish, but we have our reasons. Him, who saw his world crumbled before his eyes by a rotten man, years of torment and fear he had faced for nothing and now hoped to find a way out before falling further into his madness._

_And me, who can see into the Timeline and am aware of the will of the Gods of Time. But I still hoped. The Prince showed me that time is not just a manifestation of fate, it was more than that._

_That's what we both did...we hoped. And this hope is the drive what brought us this far._

_---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
_

End of Prologue of Dawn

* * *

** The Prince's Journals  
**

_ Herein records the Prince the knowledge of his adventures  
_

The Persian Empire: 

An ancient kingdom emerged by an Eastern tribe called ''Parsis''.In less than 30 years my ancestors conquered the whole Middle-Eastern and brought wealth and order in their Empire. Despite our past glory and knowledge erased by an arrogant Rumi ( a general label for any European living man) and his pawns, we Persians endured this opprobium and have raised once again, eager for glory and honour.

Prince of Persia:

I am the youngest son of the Persian King Shahrahman the II. A royal warrior everyone knew by my title. In my past I was living with pure ideals and I unleashed an ancient evil which haunted me for the rest of my live. But as I have managed to hold grasp of his fate, I am freed from the nightmare and now do seek peace.

Sands of Time:

A unnatural force, capable of controlling the fabric of time. The Sands are able to corrupt everything in their path, except for those who possess the Dagger, the Medallion or the Staff.

Kaileena:

Former known as the Empress of Time, she has controll over time and could foresee her own death which would've been brough by me, as written in the timeline. But with my help she could free herself from her bounds of torments. She created several artefacts to have control over the vicious Sands.

Dahaka:

The divine guardian of Time. He hunted everyone who dared to messes with the time. He was chared after me for over 7 wicked years. But at the end he was been defeated by his own curious weakness: Water.

Anahita aka Watersword:

A mysterious sword crafted by the Empress. The blade possesses the power of the water and is the most effective weapon against Sand based creatures. I named it after the ancient Persian goddess of Water, who I started to believe was my patron on this journey the whole time. I gave up believing in the gods, but I knew there must be some truth about her if I can regain my strengh by simply drinking water.

Tiger Dagger:

A dagger with several notches above,hence the name I gave it. It's simple look but outstanding sharp blade is for any blade lover.

Amulette:

A gift from Farah,who died in a different time line. This is a powerful relict which helps me to manipulate time, sadly, for a time.


	2. Chapter 1: Tide of misfortune

**Hey, this is the first chapter finally being posted. I am really sorry for this late delay. Many things hold me back from working on it. I guess my major issue is the language. As a German, It's really hard to adapt to the English language and think through logical English sentences So I am taking English writing classes to perform my skills and improving my writing, hopefully to be able to write faster and secure.**

**This chapter is short compared to the prologue, I am aware of that. I'll be making smaller chapters from now on, being able to update faster.**

**For a lighter note, I studied as much as I could about ancient Persia and Babylon, so I got a good idea about both different cultures already.**

**I updated the Prologue, some errors being corrected and added a little library at the end of each chap, it's worth to look up to it.**

**ALSO, I WANT TO THANKS ****Shadowhawke ****FOR BETAREADING! **

**SHE IS A GOOD AUTHOR AND I WANT HER IN THE NEXT POP-SEQUELS AS SCREEN-WRITER! I HAVE SPOKEN!**

* * *

_"When the tide of misfortune moves over you, even jelly will break your teeth." ~ Persian proverb._

A skein of birds flew overhead as the ship glided further over the wide ocean. When the sun reached the late dawn, the color of the ocean changed from purple color into a black one. Fitting for the arrival of the Prince of Persia and the Empress of Time, the Persian warrior thought with a sardonic trace.

The rest of the trip went smoothly insofar that the Prince didn't need to concentrate on the navigation any longer. Their ship was located in the Persian Gulf, a vast bay dividing Persia from Arabia. It was also a part of the so called '' Red Sea''. This part came across the lands of Arabia and Persia, leading west to the continent called Africa. There were many rumours why this place was called ''red sea'' in the first place. Some said that it was a memento of earlier wars between different tribes waged on the strait causing a huge blood tribute that the waters to become crimson with the blood of fallen men. Others said that a long time ago Ormazd opened the gates of hell here and the sea glowed from the fiery pits of magma when he banished his fallen brother. The bay was the open wound, a scar of a long gone land. And others suggested that it was because of the mineral-rich red mountains nearby, which are called Harei Edom. His old teacher told him that _red_ referred to the direction South, some terms which came from the older times. But for now the Prince couldn't care less for such matters. He was finally in his homeland. Somehow he'd gotten a nostalgic feeling of yearning he had during the years. A yearn to feel Persian earth on his feet, to come back to his old life... and now that chance had come.

He spent the rest of the time with Kaileena, for one of the few occasions they started a conversation without any problems. They talked about anything they could come up with, each using the opportunity to give a taunting remark at the that they couldn't stand each other, but neither was much of a talker, used to living in silence, plotting for every next step. As soon as they got tired of talking, they just stared mindlessly at the black bottom of the sea, both in their own worlds.

''Shouldn't you look up when we will arrive?'', Kaileena then asked the Prince.

''Huh?'', the Prince looked up realizing what she had just said. ''Y-yeah, right'', he answered sheepishly. To hide his embarrassment in front of the amused green eyes of his partner, he got up and climbed on the ladder near the sail.

He hated to admit it, but for some reasons he had become less and less bright during the voyage. Why was that? Had the sands Kaileena carried around clouded his mind? Or had his victory over the guardian of time changed the metabolism in his body after he realized he no longer was in danger? Either way, he hated that change and reminded himself that he needed to be on guard. Who knew what situation he could to come across again?

When he reached the crows nest, he scouted the surface of the sea, looking for a sign of land.

It wouldn't take too long for a genius to notice the huge cliffs which drew closer to the ship each moment. The cliffs were the entrance of the passage to the ports of Babylon, a geographical shield protecting the town from pirates and other hostile enemies.

_______

'' We have reached the cove'', the Prince told Kaileena as he slid down. ''Soon it will lead us to the channel, which divides the river to the Tigris and the Euphrat. Babylon is settled on the last one so we will go to further west.''

''I see'', the Empress commented on the navigation routine. The Prince nodded at her and concentrated on the wheel of the ship. It was getting a little windy...

As the ship was drawn to the entrance decorated with rough cliffs, the Prince looked up to the coast and felt his heart beat rising up. He couldn't deny that he gazed upon this wonder of nature in awe. Foam from the salty water kissed the scarred edges of the approaching walls of rock, as the waves punched the them in a weak attempt to push them away from their road. Over the cliffs grew a few palms assembled with a few bushes, but the main view was the left with mountains of the more smoothed cliffs. On the lower level were hundreds of birds of all kinds; but mostly penguins, seagulls, and migrating birds who used the fruitful part of the ocean as their current home until it was their time to move on. The Prince also witnessed sea lions sleeping, yawning, and sunbathing on the stone pillars, taking a break from their hard work. On the surface of the waters were bright swarms of fish visible, frantically swarming in all kinds of directions, almost looking like a vein of colored blood shimmering over the water. But the most notable aspect was the cove itself.

It was a wide open bay which closed itself transverse from the top to the bottom. The exact symmetry of each flank, the form of the sidewalls similar to a Stoic pillar resembled more of a giant portal, leaving a welcoming gesture for travelers and merchants. For the Prince, it was more than that. Such natural beauty in his eyes made him think back to when he was a child fascinated with old myths of many cultures. He believed those myths to be true, coming from a time, when the races of humans and gods were mixed, when heroes took challenges to bring wealth and glory to the world, when great kings became gods, radiating the _farr_ of cosmic wisdom and power. The Prince didn't know much about the history of either the architecture or geography explaining such constructions, but it didn't stop him living his fantasy out. Maybe this cove had been opened by the great Marduk, the godly heir of Anu in Babylonian tales, to allow his followers a safe passage way to their hometown, protected by the arduous cliffs. Or maybe the old Kings constructed it to improve the trade between the countries, to improve the raising economy of the satrap. He pondered this until he noticed how close the ship came to the sharp crags, immediately yanking at the wheel to avoid the danger.

Reaching the entrance, a sudden breeze left the open cove, hitting against the face of Prince, which he breathed in immediately. The salty taste of air had been replaced by the sweet water of the channel which flowed out to the ocean like a unsettled traveler. He couldn't help but close his eyes and enjoy this experience: he was home.

When the ship dived through the magnificent cliffs of the shore, she spoke up again. ''So it will still take more time, huh?''.

The Prince, opening his eyes again, nodded at that question. ''Considering that the town is centered in the middle of Babylonia and it seems that we will have less wind in the next days, I guess we will arrive Babylon in another month.''

''Another month?!?'', the Empress said aback. 'I can't wait another month on this damn boat!''

The Prince had to sigh in agreement. ''Me too. If you prefer to walk, I can get some horses around here. Maybe even a chariot.''

The Empress shook her head though. 'No thanks.'' Suddenly her usual apathetic face was replaced by a devious smirk, making the Prince shift uncomfortably. ''Since we have finally reached land, how about a magic trick?''.

Suddenly, she backed away from the Prince and stood on the centre of the ship. She closed her eyes and started to breathe slowly and heavily. Then, an unusual chanting came out from her lips and Kaileena sung something that sounded like the prayer of a priestess in an Anahita temple.

Suddenly, the Empress was drawn into the air and appeared suspended by some unknown force. ''By Ormazd, what are you doing?'', the Prince asked bewildered. Suddenly he noticed golden particles swirling around the boat, circling around the Empress.

_Oh no. _The Prince looked from the rail and saw that even the black becoming water even seemed to be trailed with the same star light. _Not again!_

The ship began to spin around, faster and faster. But the Prince cared less when he suddenly felt a pain.

A spasm wracked into his body and his head burned like the fire of hell. _I-I can't breathe_! He choked from the loss of air and fell on his knees, holding his head with one hand his head to bear the pain, and using the other to cling to the wheel and not fly out of the ship. The surroundings gave off a bright golden glow as the ship lifted in the air as well.

Suddenly there was an explosion of bright colors happened and the ship landed back on the water.

Harshly breathing, the Prince managed to gain control over himself and got up, dizzied. His head tried to turn to Kaileena, who landed on the ship and just gave a satisfied breath.

'What the hell was that for?!?'', the Persian tried to growl at her but only managed to whisper that question out, sounding like a hurt wolf stumbling toward it's prey.

''Quit whining, I just saved us the whole trip if you hadn't happened to notice '',Kaileena snapped at him.

The Prince blinked and looked around. He happened to noticed the huge cliffs around the ship. He remembered that they'd sailed into the cove, but the cliffs looked different. And he noticed something else...a simple wooden shield standing out in the water, having the symbol of a tower engraved on it. He knew that shield...

''You just teleported us over thousands of miles! We've almost reached Babylon! But how...'', the Prince started to ask but the Empress interrupted him.

,, I already told you, if I am near land, I can teleport anywhere I want. With luggage.'' She added with an arrogant smile.

At this statement the Prince looked back at her suddenly angered and now really growled at her, barking: ''Then why didn't you do that when we were at those other towns we landed at!?! We could have saved 8 months! 8 WHOLE MONTHS!!!''

''Hush'', she just winked at him, used to his outbursts.'' I am not the kind of girl who is into rushing things.''

The Prince still growled at her, but turned and stepped to the helm. ''Damn witch'', he cursed under his breath. She heard that. He guessed she heard that when he realized he now hung over the water. Shocked, he looked right-up at the side and saw that a stream of clouding power held his leg with an immense grip.

''What ... did you just say?'', he heard the voice of the Empress of Time, suppressing any sign of wrath behind the voice.

The Persian warrior didn't know why that answer came out. Either lying or telling honestly would lead him to the same terrible end of being torn up by the sharp edges of the close cliffs. Maybe he should have just used the sands he still had and turn the clock back. Or he could've used the dagger still by his side and stuck it into the wood. But he didn't. Instead in his panic this answer came out:

''Kakulukiam?''

Kaileena looked at him oddly for a moment, but then lifted the hanging Persian back to the boat. ''You men are all the same'', she sighed and turned away from the lying man towards the bog. ''I hope you will get better when we will arrive at your home town.''

The Prince stood up and was lost in his thoughts. He went to Kaileena's side and his eyes blazed. 'Yes.'', he said, putting his arm over Kaileena's shoulder,, We are nearly home.''

Babylon was the second most important metropolis of the Persian Empire. A long time ago the town had been taken over by his ancestors. Not by military force, but by the peaceful surrender of the citizens. The horrendous rule of the Babylonian king and the enslavery of many ethnic groups, abducted from their homes, made the people move in hope to the side of the enemy itself.

His old teacher told him that had brought the Persian Empire into its golden age of rule and set the standard of the liberal rule of Persia.

The Prince was always proud of being a Persian and a Babylonian at the same time; he loved his town that dearly. If his father ever forgave him and decided to choose him as his worthy follower, he would put the centre of the Empire from Persepolis to Babylon. The Prince had always thought about that. Would that step be too radical? Would it bring him envy from other parties, especially from the hateful aristocrats? He decided that this action was truly the best one. No longer would he hide himself in the dark passages of that town if he was out of his ship, no longer would he fear his cruel end or any random encounter with pirates, Spartans, demons, half-gods or sand creatures. No, it was time for a new future!

_...why have the heaven become so cloudy? _The Prince wondered, his face frowning._ Is a storm coming up? No, the clouds don't look normal. They appear to be more like smoke... SMOKE!_

''There's fire coming up!'', Kaileena spoke up and pointed at the flames as the ship came closer. Even the black water started to give off a reddish look off.

Now the last cliff was revealing the true scenery which lay before them. ''No...'' the Prince whispered at what he saw.

Babylon, a city which had lived through so many generations of rulers, a city known for the freedom and peace the citizens enjoyed under the Persian rule, was consumed by hellfire.

Embers and arrows flew like orange snow down to the earth, giving it an unholy look. The smoke came up from the walls of the town as if from a Volcano, and the fire burnt at every corner of the Prince's sight.

He heard the impact of catapults, metal clanging at each other, and most importantly, screams. He witnessed the cry of despair, the cry of help, the cry of death, from women, children, and men.

The Prince just stared, his eyes wide open. Like Xerxes, when he spectated the historic battle in Salamis, he saw his world tearing apart in front of him. He remembered his recent nightmare. It was really a vision. Every kind of emotion ran through him. Anger, confusion, desperation, fear… his stomach twisted as if it was going to explode. In all his frustration, he grabbed at his hair, pulling it as hard as he could and continued to scream, until blood flew out of his temples.

Then fast as flying projectiles, his head turned directly to look at Kaileena. Her pale face and her shocked green eyes looked back at his maddened cerulean ones back. Those same eyes that could look into the future. He was aware that he was uncomfortable because of his nightmares, but he'd shrugged them off mostly off as unconscious fears. But she WAS the Empress of Time, she'd proved that she could see into the future.

''Why?'', a hollow whisper dived from his lips, but reached the Empress' ears as a growling thunder. ''Why did you never tell me this?''

''Prince, I-...I...'', she just replied weakly, her emerald eyes moving from him to the burned town and back again, as if she was being interrogated by guards, trying to find a way to express herself out. The Prince saw the fear, even guilt, in her eyes. Why hadn't she told him? They could've changed course and tried to find a way to prevent the town being attacked. She'd even hastened the progress to arriving his hometown without even showing any sign of unsettlement. So why?

He couldn't bear this reality; he didn't want to accept it, not after all the things he had been through! He felt like he was hitting his head at a concrete wall, hoping to make a hole big enough to pass through, only to find that there was never anything beyond, only more, more concrete.

He changed the time before he fell into the hands of the twisted Vizier, he drove through the darkest pits of the ocean endlessly in hope to find a way to change his demise, he managed to find the Island of Time even though he had blood on his hands, challenged Time itself and defeated his greatest nightmare, but this…THIS!?!

''IS THIS HOW I CHANGED MY FATE?!?'' he roared at the top of his lungs, becoming enraged at the irony of the situation.'' IS THIS HOW TIME TELLS ME WHAT I HAVE ACCOMPLISHED!?!''

''Prince…'', Kaileena baked away until the pole hit against her back, stopping her escape. She was now at the mercy of the Prince of Persia, who resembled more of a enraged lion. His shadow surrounded her fragile looking body as the Prince ignored the catastrophic event behind him for now. His wild black mane and the unholy fire surrounding his appearance made him look like an mythological war god, who drove his wrath at the hostile army, with the goal to annihilate all of them. Kaileena shuddered at the hellish picture of her companion. How could a human awake so much fear in her? Her, the Empress of Time, the safe keeper of the Sands?

''You knew this would happen, didn't you!?'', his voice seethed, his teeth pressing so he would let out a growl. He sneered at her pathetic look and shook his head, feeling like he was speaking to a wall. ''Why do I even have to ask, you are the _fucking_ Empress of _Time _after all!''. He approached her slowly, like a prey cornering her. Kaileena looked more and more miserable, she seemed like she would disappear in her own self pity.

''Prince, I -- I - I didn't-'', she stuttered, trying the best to defend herself, but she couldn't. Not when she feared for her life.

'' I pitied you'', the Prince continued, not giving any damn for her excuses. '' You were all alone on that island, like me feeling the grasp of death. I spared you, protected you from your demise, and offered you a new life. And _this_ is how you thank me?!?''. Letting him see his hometown burning down, like she was some twisted boy fooling his innocent friend into stealing and letting him get caught. No, this was worse, much worse. This was unforgivable. He gripped Kailieena, not giving her the chance to escape. A faint deja vu from a similar scene came to his eyes; when they'd both left the Island, when he'd looked into those deep eyes to see if he had made the right decision. And he'd believed he had. But now this was different. His right hand reached for her throat, pressing her air channel. Kaileena tried to fight herself free from this enraged mad man, but all she could do was sputter hoarsely: " _Please...stop...''_

The Prince pressed harder, breaking her pleadings. His eyes were one inch apart from her, watching her choke._ ''I should have let you perish''_, came out of his lips, each word dripping with the blackest hate. Suddenly, an arrow landed on the pole, an inch away from Kaileena's head. The Prince blinked out of surprise, letting go of Kaileena. She stumbled on the wooden floor, coughing breathing for air like a newborn. The Prince ignored her and looked up for the source of the shooter. All his eyes saw was a fiery rain of more arrows, coming down on the ship. They were being attacked. ''GOD NO!'', the Prince shouted, reaching for the wheel to sail off . But then he saw Kaileena. She was still crouched there on all her fours, coughing and focusing on breathing, oblivious to everything around her. No matter what she'd done, he couldn't let her die. Not like this. ''SNAP OUT OF IT, YOU FOOL!'', he roared. The Prince grabbed Kaileena and embraced her, protecting her from the falling death. The arrows fell, fixing on each part of the ship, the fire on them spreading on the wood. The Prince suddenly felt something sharp piercing through him, only a hair's breadth away from his heart and lungs. He cried out in pain, getting up to get the arrow out of his back. The hot steel started to cauterize his flesh, burning like lava. The Prince gripped at the rod and tried to rip it out. Without luck, it stuck._ '' D-Damn''_, the Prince grunted, pulling at the wood. On the third attempt he succeeded, feeling the cooked blood streaming out of his open wound. Knocking his pain out of his focus, the Prince gripped at the wheel and pulled the ship back in the opposite direction. They had to get out of here, the cliffs would protect them.

But then the Prince heard something. Something flying, and it sounded heavy. The Prince turned his head to look behind him to the source of the sound. A huge fireball was flying towards the ship, released from a catapult not too far away from the bay.

_''Oh fuck me''_, the Prince murmured in shock.

...

...He regained consciousness. Hollow pains ran through him, from his legs to his open wound to his already screwed head. He felt his weight sustained on a wooden plate, his under torso swimming in the ice cold water. He couldn't move any of his limbs, and could barely keep his eyes open. But the body he saw, a knocked out woman floating away from him like a dead corpse, was enough motivation for him to try not to black out._ ''Kaileeeeenaaa...''_, he wanted to cry, to scream at the top of his lungs, but he couldn't... he was too weak...

With a last surge of hope, he used all his strength to move one of his arms, trying to reach for her, but it was futile. The arm became heavy, and the Prince tried to fight against the dull feeling which crept through his head. And then everything went black around him.

* * *

~ End of Chapter 1

* * *

**The Prince's Journals**

_Herein records the Prince records the knowledge of his adventures_

Babylon:

Before the Persian King Cyrus conquered the town without shedding blood and turning it into one of Persia's metropolises, it was considered as an Empire built by the mythological King Sargon in the earliest records of human history. This city is very known for its many wonders such as the Tower of Babel and the Hanging Gardens. It is my hometown where I was born and grew up.

Marduk:

The Son of Ea, who was considered as an elemental force and later on a brutal monster. Marduk became the god of magics and was worshipped by the Babylonians and also Persian kings.

Euphrat:

The eastern member of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, along with the Tigris, which flows through Babylon.

Cyrus the Great:

Being considered as the greatest King of history, some worshipped him as a god. With the title ''King of Kings'', he was the founder of the Persian Empire, whose benign nature was the very reason he brought wealth and equality in his rule. I really doubt I am his descendant despite my royal blood.

Xerxes:

The 4th King of Persia, known as a wise yet unsympathetic man. Driven by revenge his goal was to take over Greece, but in his hubris he spectated his own failure in the outcome at the bay of Salamis.


	3. Chapter 2: Arrival

_"They were all human beings, but_

_Like wolves sharp-clawed, for shedding blood. "_

— Sa'di

* * *

...

...Darkness...that was all he saw. He felt nothing, heard nothing, smelled nothing... all of his senses were knocked out. But slowly, really slowly, he felt a dull pressure coming from his chest. He started to breathe again, deep and concentrated... and then the first pains kicked in, insistently pounding in his head, yet hollow. Finally, when he'd regained his senses, his ears picked up on something strange.

'' _**Ph'nglui... mglw'na?'' **_

_**,,...-fh wgah fhtagn!''**_

_What kind of rambling is that? _, The Persian wondered. His days with the Dahaka had forced him to sharpen his instincts and to use them for anything that moved or gave off sound. These sounds came from humans, normal humans. But this language...he never knew that such a language existed. He knew Greek, Arabian, Indian, Pars obviously, and even some Mandarin...yet he had never heard of this language. It wasn't even a language any normal tongue would use. The phrases they spoke were unpronounceable, the emphasis of each word was so sinister it crept up the skin the Prince was just starting to feel again. He never expected to feel that... fear again; the fear he'd learned from the dark guardian.

And the voices... somewhat off . Whatever they were, Prince realised quickly that he wasn't safe.

He let his left eye open slowly and avoided any groaning or similar sounds that might draw attention to him. From the pressure of the sands and the weight of his wet clothes he realised that his body had seemed to reach the ports of Babylon and survived the crash of the ship somehow. Funny, he got a sense of déjà vu from this conclusion somehow...

The sun was already high, and its rays half-blinded the Prince's eyes, but he saw enough of what was not far from him.

Two men stood over the Persian. They wore armour, not really recognizable, but the right one held an axe, the other a long and sharp sword. Soldiers, the Prince figured, but they neither belonged to the Persian troop nor the Babylonian Gardé. He could see that by the designs of the weapons. They were very new to him, not regular weapons soldiers usually use. But what the Prince was interested in more was how to get out of their presence since the men didn't seem to be allies.

They seemed to be in the heat of an argument from what the Prince could tell by their raised voices. What were they arguing about so much? The Prince didn't want to know. He wanted them to get lost.

His eye was darting around to see if he still had the Watersword in his possession. No, of course not! Why was it that every time he woke up, he had no weapon? _That's the seventh time now!_ Great, he had reached his lucky number, hopefully the men just happened to be touri-

Wait a minute. The warrior's eye gazed now on the Tigerdagger, not far away from his right hand. Maybe if he could reach it...

Suddenly the soldier with axe, clearly starting to get irritated with his comrade, swung the axe after the Prince. Shocked, the Prince tensed himself to roll away, but the one with the Sword held the other soldier off, shouting at him with his inhuman ramblings. Alert now, the Prince waited for any moment their attention was drawn away from him again, and continued to grasp at his tiny hope of escape.

_Is this __that__ they are arguing about? __Whether or not to__ chop me into pieces?, _the Prince wondered, disgusted by that thought. He knew that he chopped people in pieces too, but he didn't go around screwing with some random bodies like a twisted individual. That was just...sick, and it was against his ethical values he still kept as a warrior.

Slowly, his arm crept closer to the little dirty dagger that was his ticket out of here... damn, why did it have to be so far away? _Okay, stay cool, stay cool, just a few inches-_

The brutal step over his hand swung the Prince's concentration from the dagger to the sharp pain of having his already mangled hand being crushed under a heavy tank boot.

The Prince gasped aloud and his body wrung in pain. He looked now with both eyes up and saw that the soldier with the blade was the one preventing his escape.

His face was not discernible due to the bright sunlight but the man was looking long over his prey, thinking about what to do. Then, he crouched down and looked directly the Prince in the face while he ground his teeth in torment.

What the Prince saw made him nearly jump: The head of the soldier was one of a monster. At first the Persian thought he was seeing the Dahaka again, but his panic decreased a little when he realized that it was a masklike helm. It almost resembled the head of a bull, but the horns of it were twisting in irregular directions, almost showing the same impression of the Beast's horns. But by the looks of it, the origin of the helm was really that of a bull by the way the material glowed an almost golden tone and was cleanly polished.

Logically he knew that the face was hidden; but the Prince knew the soldier was smiling under that mask. Worse, he seemed to enjoy torturing him. The man pushed his foot deeper into hand of the Prince to make him scream. The warrior didn't give in to his torments, but still groaned from the brutal actions.

The soldier snickered under the helm and said something. His tongue was creeping the Prince out already, but the tone suggested an even more sadistic nature. The soldier was clearly taunting him, but the Prince couldn't understand what he was saying. Then suddenly the man with the axe appeared on the other side, from the opposite direction of the one with the sword and stepped on the chest of the Persian with one foot. And not without force. It knocked the air out of the Prince and he couldn't breathe any longer. The Prince rolled his head over to see the other soldier. He also wore a helm. Masklike as well, but in different form. The material was that of blueish glowing steel, and the helm had several tentacle-like laces coming out of the exterior sides, this time really symmetrically ordered. And the nose area seemed to show a bug-like jaw off. What was it representing, a scarab or what?

But what the Prince instantly noticed was that this helm was showing the mouth of the soldier, and he was grinning widely, baring his yellow yet really sharp teeth. He was laughing like he had lost it and sheathed his axe once more to strike over his throat.

_They seemed to have agreed __on chopping me into pieces_, the almost cynical thought flashed in the Prince's head. But they didn't know who they were planned to chop. He wasn't just a simple civilian to be played with nor was this his first time. He was the Prince of Persia. A warrior slept inside him, like a lion roaring out at its disturbance. And the warrior had been awakened.

With all the might he had left, the Prince raised his other hand and with a flick of skill he grabbed the ankle of the bull headed soldier. Before the Scarab soldier had the chance to hit him, the Prince jerked the Bull soldier off balance, swinging him like a hammer and letting him collide with the axe. Quickly the Persian rolled away, springing up while grabbing his dagger, and readied himself into a combat pose.

The Scarab soldier didn't comprehend what was happening and realized rather late that he had split the body of his comrade nearly in half. Blood was spitting out like a geyser, darkening the bright sands. Not a nice sight. In fact, the Scarab soldier seemed to be rather...nasty now. The Prince eyed him patiently while the soldier took his weapon out of the other one's remnants, only to cause all the guts to stream out both sides. That wasn't the Prince's style. Usually he wouldn't let the enemy have the chance to attack. However, he considered he should let him have his first move. It's really like Chess: If you knew the movements of one soldier, you knew them all.

Enraged, the Scarab soldier lifted his weapon and charged at his opponent. However, the Prince dashed forward with the speed of a leopard and before the hostile enemy was even able to swing, the Persian rammed his little blade into the exposed throat. The battle was over before it even started. The Persian pressed even deeper into the gutted throat and supported his enemy's weight with his abused hand until the soldier's body became limp and the axe fell down into the sand. The Prince kicked the fresh corpse off and sighed in relief.

He washed the fresh warm blood off with his long cloak and inspected the soldier's uniform more closely. He resembled no-one from any army he had seen in his past life. The soldier was protected from arm to tooth by a several layered armor of pure plate, it's silver color still shining though tainted by the red liquid of life. The arms were left free, probably for more flexible combat. Added with the black clothes such as the trousers and steel gloves and and especially the horrifying mask made him look like a monster from a pure nightmare coming to live. Pretty sure that was intended. But what the Prince's interest pointed to was not the whole exterior appearance, but a small and recognisable tattoo on his right upper arm. He himself carried several paintings over his body, maybe could figure the origin of the enemy out. The Prince crouched down and inspected the curious design of the tattoo. The way they were printed on looked pretty archaic but the expression was clear enough: Two simple waves moving parallel until they merged together at one spot. The picture revealed a tentacle. But what did that mean? Was that supposed to be the rank of the soldier? Perhaps the mark was revealing some origin of a nautical town, but here in a desert? Probably not, he could only think of one tribe but he knew the Phoenicians wouldn't dare to betray their allies.

The Prince turned his head towards the other half caved corpse and thought about this. "What the hell is going on here?", the Prince murmured with an hint of desperation. His city being attacked was already bad news, but by an unknown force? And this well armed even? How could this happen within a year? Any army, even the Romans, wouldn't have been able to break the defences of Babylon, the very heart of the Persian Kingdom! He needed to find Kaileena first and then head to-wait.

"KAILEENA!", the Prince shouted aloud. How had he forgotten her? He remembered seeing her knocked out body floating towards the coast before he fainted. Maybe she was still here.

The Prince suppressed the whimper when pain shot through him once more. He looked down his body. He was like when he went through the Chinowat, dirty like a common beggar with several blood stains. The goddamn soldier had almost broken his hand as well. He had to concentrate on not going into shock, he had survived worse. Much, much worse...

Staggering, the Prince went on with his search. No sign of a red dress, only of crimson blood. He also saw some battered corpses of some simple fishermen and merchants from several nations. They hadn't evacuated. The thought slammed into the head of the Persian. The army must have undertaken a surprise attack...

It took all his might to climb on a low wall to look over its edge . Then he saw the familiar red cotton of a dress. He'd found her. Along with two more of those Bullsoldiers inspecting her with soft kicks. They were talking in that creepy language. That only made the Persian mad.

"HEY!", the Prince screamed irritated, forgetting all consequences. The bull heads turned towards him, alarmed and saw the Prince fighting with his life to get over that edge. The soldiers became agitated and suddenly grasped Kaileena.  
"LEAVE HER ALONE!", the Prince continued with his vocal attack and slowly got past the edge to stop them. The soldiers picked the Empress as if she were furniture and started running towards a gate not far from them. "Come back here and face me, cowards!", the Prince insulted them. Adrenalin shot through his veins as he started following them.

"!I'A! I'A! THUSG-ET'HA CYLTH-A!", one of the soldiers was screeching like an ostrich as they passed under the gate. The Prince ran like an enraged lion but it was too late. Before his eyes the gates closed to stop his tracks.

"Dammit", the Prince murmured. They had kidnapped Kaileena. It couldn't be coincidence or else they would've killed her instantly. No, something bigger was going on. Someone knew they had arrived Babylon. But how?

The Persian heard swords drawing behind him and turned to the source. Several soldiers, both the bull and scarab kind, were in combat pose, and they were quickly surrounding him. Taken aback, the Prince pressed himself against the gate until he felt the cold metal squirming through his back. _Great, now this..._

The Prince took a deep breath, steeling himself with courage to move into a defensive position, drawing out his dagger threateningly. The little group of armed men started laughing, mocking in consensus in their horrid tongue as they presented their longer swords. The Prince had no time for this, but the situation gave him no other choice. Several pictures of his battles on the Island of Time were swimming through his head as he remembered the way he used to fight.

**"Come closer and face your death!"**

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_~The Prince's Journals~_

_Herein records the Prince the knowledge of his adventures_

Rome:

Persia's greatest threat. Both of bureaucratic nature are fighting over the territories of the Middle Sea and Africa

Phoenicians:

A tribe of Proto-Iranians who are famous for their nautical knowledge and fast ships. The Catharers are descendants of them.

Chinowat:

The thin road of redemption. A concept of Zarathustra about the deeds of each human determining the outcome. If his good deeds bring him to the end of Chinowat, he will find paradise. His false decisions and his evil deeds will bring the corrupted off the road, falling into the purgatorial fire of Ahriman. The concept was used in Sassanid trials later on. If someone was accused of a crime like lying, the accused must run over a thin piece of wood over fire. If he survived it, he was free of all charges.


End file.
